For a few short years in the early 1990s, Richard Marx had become a cliche, relentlessly tagged to his over-aired ballads Right Here Waiting and Now and Forever. The man who sold 30 million albums after the first 10 years of his career had turned into VH1 fodder.
Then he surprised the music industry by reinventing himself as a writer and producer capable of penning songs for superstar singers as diverse as Barbra Streisand, Luther Vandross, Leann Rimes, Vince Gil, Sarah Brightman and Michael Bolton. Behind the boy-band face lies a soulful, talented songsmith with a knack for cranking out heartwarming, evergreen ballads.
“It’s mostly luck that I have done well,” Marx said in a phone interview last month when asked how he had achieved such success. “I do it because it’s just something I love.”
Dance With My Father, the poignant tribute to Luther Vandross’ father co-written by Marx, scored the late R ’n’ B wunderkind’s first No. 1 hit and garnered the Song of the Year award at the Grammies in 2003. In 2005, Marx penned the runaway hit Better Life for Keith Urban (better known as Nicole Kidman’s husband), producing the biggest hit in Marx’s career.
Marx is revered by his peers as much as he is adored by his fans. He was a member of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band in 2006 and is currently touring with Vertical Horizon’s lead singer Matt Scannell.
In September 2008 Marx made a foray into rock with his album Emotional Remains, his first new studio release in five years.
“I’m inspired all the time. When I am in the gym, when I am walking outside or when I’m doing stuff in my home,” said Marx, who had written 13 No. 1 hits as of last year. “I have notes of music everywhere. Then I have to make time to piece these segments of music together in the studio.”
Asked why his songs appeal to audiences across the globe, Marx offered his take on the art of balladry: “It describes emotions everyone has felt in life. Whether you have been in love or you are imagining being in love, ballads are emotional and universal.”
Having grown up in Chicago and moved to Los Angeles to pursue his music career, Marx is dismissive of TV talent shows and the quick route to fame they promise. “I say just ignore all [the] hype and spend time to work on your craft. Play in a band. Or work on your songwriting.”
“It [American Idol] provides opportunities for singers who need the platform, but it can’t help those who are not ready yet,” said Marx. “The idol phenomenon has been around for nine years but it has produced very few real stars. In the end, you need the music to connect with the audiences.”
As to what to expect on April 17 when he plays Taipei Arena, his gig “will be a ‘greatest hits’ show plus a couple of new songs from my new album,” said Marx. “There won’t be big productions or stage effects. It will just be the music, the song and me. It will be you spending time with Richard Marx.”
April 28 to May 4 During the Japanese colonial era, a city’s “first” high school typically served Japanese students, while Taiwanese attended the “second” high school. Only in Taichung was this reversed. That’s because when Taichung First High School opened its doors on May 1, 1915 to serve Taiwanese students who were previously barred from secondary education, it was the only high school in town. Former principal Hideo Azukisawa threatened to quit when the government in 1922 attempted to transfer the “first” designation to a new local high school for Japanese students, leading to this unusual situation. Prior to the Taichung First
The Ministry of Education last month proposed a nationwide ban on mobile devices in schools, aiming to curb concerns over student phone addiction. Under the revised regulation, which will take effect in August, teachers and schools will be required to collect mobile devices — including phones, laptops and wearables devices — for safekeeping during school hours, unless they are being used for educational purposes. For Chang Fong-ching (張鳳琴), the ban will have a positive impact. “It’s a good move,” says the professor in the department of
On April 17, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) launched a bold campaign to revive and revitalize the KMT base by calling for an impromptu rally at the Taipei prosecutor’s offices to protest recent arrests of KMT recall campaigners over allegations of forgery and fraud involving signatures of dead voters. The protest had no time to apply for permits and was illegal, but that played into the sense of opposition grievance at alleged weaponization of the judiciary by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to “annihilate” the opposition parties. Blamed for faltering recall campaigns and faced with a KMT chair
Article 2 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文) stipulates that upon a vote of no confidence in the premier, the president can dissolve the legislature within 10 days. If the legislature is dissolved, a new legislative election must be held within 60 days, and the legislators’ terms will then be reckoned from that election. Two weeks ago Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposed that the legislature hold a vote of no confidence in the premier and dare the president to dissolve the legislature. The legislature is currently controlled
RSS